Spotlight on Religion and Spirituality
If your foundation supports grantmaking related to religion, spirituality or intercultural communications, you will want to review these and other projects in the GFEM Media Database at media.gfem.org.
Amma: A Documentary of a Living Saint
Amma: A Documentary of a Living Saint is an exquisitely beautiful, extraordinarily powerful portrayal of one woman's rise from poverty, abuse and discrimination to become a world-renowned spiritual leader and global social activist.
Trochenbrod
Trochenbrod is a documentary film that takes us back to the vanished town of Trochenbrod in Ukraine. This isolated, all-Jewish town of 5,000 people was eradicated by the Nazis except for 33 who escaped the massacre. The film accompanies a group of survivors and descendants as they journey back to what was once the site of the magical town of Trochenbrod.
Voices and Faces of the Adhan: Cairo
Voices and Faces of the Adhan: Cairo is a documentary film and audio archiving project about the adhan, or call to prayer, in Cairo - a 1400-year-old oral tradition that will change forever in 2010.
Into the Land of Kalachakra
Into the Land of Kalachakra tells the story of the founding of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's personal monastery in Ithaca, New York - the only such monastery in the world outside of India - and of the community of Tibetan refugees resettled nearby.
Journey to Kathmandu
Journey to Kathmandu follows the once-in-a-lifetime journey that goats make from the heart of the Nepalese Himalayas to Kathmandu. It is at the end of this journey that they will be sacrificed in honor of the Goddess Durga, during the holy Nepali festival known as Dashain.
Scenes from a Parish
Filmed over four years, Scenes from a Parish tells the wildly diverse personal stories of Father Paul O'Brien and his unruly flock, as they struggle to hold onto faith in the face of desperate circumstances.
Regeneration
Regeneration examines the world of young Jews living in Poland today, by following the intertwined lives of four young women struggling to create a Jewish identity and community.
The Hand of Fatima
In this time-traveling, cross-cultural documentary, the daughter of Rolling Stone writer Robert Palmer travels from Mississippi to Morocco to investigate her father's transformative encounter with an ancient Sufi brotherhood, The Master Musicians of Jajouka.
Radical Amazement: The Prophetic Life and Times of Arthur Waskow
This hour-long documentary film portrays a dramatic saga of spirituality and social change, tracing Rabbi Arthur Waskow's 75-year journey from secular political activism to a deeply spiritual vision of personal healing and social change. Much larger than any single life, Waskow's story encompasses the American peace, environmental and civil rights movements; the forging of African American-Jewish relationships; the unprecedented renewal of Jewish spiritual life through the remaking of ancient stories and prayers to speak to the present; and a deep commitment to fellowship and common purpose between the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Her Choice - Behind and Beyond the Hijab
Her Choice is a documentary that takes a new, in-depth look at the Muslim women's headscarf, or hijab, in North America.
A Taste of Heaven: The Heartbreak Life of Raymond Myles, Gospel Genius of New Orleans
A Taste of Heaven celebrates the heartbreak life of the sensational New Orleans gospel entertainer Raymond Myles. The documentary feature film traces his rise from grinding poverty to artistic acclaim, and examines the complex personal issues in a life tragically cut short, on the cusp of stardom, by Raymond's murder.
Renewal
Renewal is the first feature-length documentary to capture the vitality of America's religious-environmental movement. Offering a profound message of hope in eight stories, Renewal shows people inspired by their diverse spiritual and religious convictions being called to re-examine what it means to be human and how we live on this planet.
Take Us Home
Take Us Home is an independent public television documentary that tells the story of the last remaining Ethiopian Jews - called Falash Mura - who are attempting to immigrate to Israel. The film documents this historic rescue and, through the eyes of individuals and families, explores the challenges and struggles, triumphs and heart-wrenching setbacks Ethiopian Jews must endure in both countries - often over many years.
New Muslim Cool
Chosen as the Opening Night film for the 2009 season of P.O.V., the feature documentary New Muslim Cool follows three years in the life of Puerto Rican-American hip-hop star Hamza Pérez. Hamza quit dealing drugs to turn to Islam twelve years ago. Now he's moved to Pittsburgh's tough North Side to start a Muslim community and rebuild his shattered family. When the FBI raids his mosque, Hamza must confront life in post-9/11 America - and himself.
Thy Will Be Done: A Transsexual Woman's Journey through Family and Faith
Thy Will Be Done follows male-to-female transsexual Sara Herwig in her path to ordination in the Presbyterian Church. Efforts have been made to block her ordination by the evangelical conservative groups who don't recognize her as female and question her fitness to be a Pastor...but who also challenge her candidacy because she is in a same-sex relationship, with a woman.
Extra Credit
Extra Credit follows students at an Islamic school near Dallas as they try to memorize the entire Qur'an and compete at the International Qur'an contest in Dubai. A coming of age story, Extra Credit shows what Islamic religious devotion looks like when it grows up alongside PlayStation 3, hip-hop music and the challenges of American youth.
